This thread is about forums in general, and is not a place to start discussions about 'vB5 failure'.
Please stick to the topic
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I'd still like an events calendar for my community. Any community of muscle car enthusiasts or any enthusiasts still goes to events of some kind. It's what you do with the feature that counts, certainly, and it's how it works on a mobile device. -
I agree that it's all about the content. It's primarily about the content generated by a specific, unique target audience. I see that Microsoft just announced the acquisition of LinkedIn but it's also worth noting that many people who are on Linkedin are also on Facebook or Twitter; but the context of each site is not the same and the activity you see on each site is different even though there may be links between the things that people say, post or share on either site.
If you have features or functions which allow you to connect securely with a specific target audience that can help you in turn generate something unique then there's every reason that you can still succeed: If the technology you are using has missing features that don't enable that audience to share content, or you make it more difficult for them to share content on your site than they can elsewhere, then you'll find it an uphill struggle.
It seems to me that in this day and age your technology needs to work easily on a remote mobile device and be able to service the most common information needs of any given group of users. If you can't manage all that in one package then whatever package you are using needs to be able to work seamlessly with something else that can deliver the missing features, will also work securely on a mobile device, and ideally allow you to connect to other social media. These days there's not much difference between a forum post and a blog post. There's a big difference between those technologies that work well on smart-phones and those that don't.Leave a comment:
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In my experience niche specific forums survive change far better than general "catch-all" forums. Social media has largely replaced forums as the place for general meaningless and mindless idle chatter but I defy anyone to find, for example, detailed schematics, rare parts sources, and expert mechanical knowledge on 1960's "Big Three" manufacturer muscle cars all in one place on social media.
It's all in what you can offer than virtually no one else can or does. It's hard to just offer a feature or function that no one else has now. It's all about the content.Leave a comment:
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Forums are a technology and a tool. How you use it depends on how well it works for you. However if you ignore other tools like social media, your results may not be what you expect.
Online communities have been doomed since 1990 when the Internet started seeping into homes. Back then we used BBSes. These still operate but many have switched to a Forum system and some use Social Media. Take that what you will. I will say, you have more functionality with a system like vBulletin than you ever will with a Facebook Group. How you tap into your market is ultimately what matters.Leave a comment:
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I don't think forums are finished, its still growing and has its own road.
Even I have just started a new forum http://forumweb.hosting recently and its getting good traffic from search engines and social networks
Of course I used social media as a advertising channel to attract users to my forum. Forums are giving me more benefits if you do it right way.
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I moved this. It is not related to feedback on the operation of this site.Leave a comment:
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is the End of Forums Era
I believe that it is the End of Forum site Era since most of user moved to social Networks and mobile social Apps.
What is your point of view regarding this issue and what is the future of vBulletin and its strategic plan?
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